Geier (surname)
Encyclopedia
Geier is a German
word for a vulture. Geier is also a notable surname
and less frequently is seen as a place name.
Geier have confounded ornithological usage of the term in poetry
, literature
, biblical scholarship, and English-language dictionary
and encyclopedia
entries, while spawning several literary and philological misunderstandings and controversies. The surname
Geier also has different and somewhat inconsistent origins, traditions and meanings, and the heraldry
associated with the surname likewise is confused.
whose range includes the whole of Europe
and the western part of Asia
. Geier refers both to birds from the genus
Old World vulture
(Aegypiinae) and the family
New World vulture
(Cathartidae).
In English usage, the word Geier has been associated with both the Gyrfalcon
and the Lammergeier
although neither is synonymous with “Geier”. For example, "gyrfalcon" is thought to come from French gerfaucon, which is written in mediaeval Latin as gyrofalco, but the first part of the word also is said to come from Old High German gîr (now Geier), as in "vulture". The modifier, "Gyr", “Gier” or "Geier" preceding the word "falcon" is now thought to be a reference to the large size of the bird rather than to its genus or family, but it has not always been so regarded.
Earlier inaccurate and misleading conflations of these disparate terms resulted from reliance on imprecise Biblical translations and metaphorical impressions rather than on direct anatomical or behavioral observations of the bird species themselves. In the King James Version of the Bible
, in Leviticus
xi, 13; Deuteronomy
xiv, 17), the term "Gyrfalcon" referred to an unclean bird, most likely an Egyptian vulture
, rather than to the modern Gyrfalcon
, and did not refer to a falcon
or an eagle
. These Biblical references to "Gyrfalcon" (or sometimes "Gierfalcon") probably were a misinterpretation of a Hebrew term more properly translated either as Egyptian vulture
or Lammergeier
, the latter also known as the "lamb-vulture" or the "bone-breaker vulture", or historically as the "bone crusher" or Ossifrage).
This etymological confusion has produced taxonomic confusion, as well. Some authorities actually proclaimed uncertainty whether the Geier is a vulture
or an eagle
, and older dictionaries used the terms “Geier”, “Gyrfalcon” and “Lammergeier”, almost interchangeably, e.g. Webster's 1913 Dictionary.
Poets and others often assumed that the term Geier refers to a form of eagle or falcon, rather than a vulture, a matter that was commented upon in the article by Harriet C. Stanton, Poets and Birds: a Criticism, The Atlantic monthly. / Volume 52, Issue 311, September 1883.
Even some encyclopedia writers adopted the view that the Lammergeier
"is more closely allied with the eagles than with the vultures", as in the 11th Edition of Encyclopædia Britannica
.
Taxonomic confusion may have resulted from the physical appearance of the Lammergeier
. Because the head of the Lammergeier
, unlike most other vultures, is feathered rather than naked, it bears a resemblance to the eagle
or condor
. “Gyrfalcon” is also sometimes rendered as "Geir eagle", although in modern usage a Gyrfalcon
is a member of the falcon
family and is not an eagle
. The Indian Vulture, another true vulture species recently recategorized as critically endangered, also was described as having a distinctly "eagle-like bearing" in contrast to most other vulture species.
The modern taxonomic distinction between the families of eagle
s or falcon
s and the families of vultures should eliminate any uncertainty over the respective meanings of the term Geier. The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) and the Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus) are true carrion-eating vultures. The term "Geier" should not be applied to the modern Gyrfalcon
(Falco rusticolus); the Gyrfalcon is a distinct species of falcon
(the largest of the falcon family), and is not a vulture.
in Germany
and somewhat less common among German-American people. It is also found as a French
surname, and as Russia
n surname. The latter probably is associated with German emigration to Russia in the 17th and 18th centuries. The surname Geier is often considered to be interchangeable with Geyer
, although some sources ascribe a different origin and meaning to the two surnames. German migrants to English speaking countries often Anglicise Geier as Geyer, though this change has become less common in recent years. Similarly, Geier has often been mistakenly changed to Geyer, and vice-versa in legal papers such as birth certificates and migration documents, especially in areas where the name is uncommon, or one version is vastly prevalent.
Many using the surname Geier share an oral history attributing its origins to a heroic band of peasant villagers who climbed high to an aerie and clubbed to death a gigantic raptor (a Geier) who had been stealing and eating human babies from their village. See German family name etymology
As with the surname "Geier", the surname "Geyer" is primarily associated with the word "vulture". This is often used in a pejorative sense, however (as in "nickname for a greedy or rapacious person, from Middle High and Middle Low German gir(e) as in ‘large bird of prey’, ‘vulture’"). When affixed to a Jewish family, the surname "Geier" is thought by some to have a slightly different meaning. The Yiddish word Geyer means "peddler", and it is assumed that when last names became mandatory in Europe, the surname Geier was imposed upon Jewish peasants as a deprecatory label connoting a scheming merchant who takes advantage of the cupidity of others, i.e., a "vulture". The word "Geier" more recently has evolved as a "derogatory term for persons from the Middle East."
A significant number of African American
people with the surname Geier are found in Washington D.C. and across the Southern States
, the Europe
an antecedents of which are unknown. As with the surnames of many African American families, it is likely that the names were adopted from a European American slaveowner by the name of "Geier", but none has been identified to date.
origin
s of those bearing the Geier surname. Some oral tradition
s and family histories associate the Geier surname with the eagle (as in the "Eagle's Nest" coat of arms) and with a peasant legend
concerning a baby-stealing bird of prey
in a medieval Swabia
n or Saxon
village
. Others associate the surname with the carrion-eating, bone-crushing variety of vulture., In modern times, it is not unusual for the vulture in family coats of arms or logos
to be rendered as a comical
caricature
of a slumping and sad-sack buzzard
rather than a lammergeier
or gyrfalcon
with "the bearing of an eagle
."
The most notorious historical personage bearing the name Geier was Florian Geier, commonly known as Florian Geyer
, a Franconia
n nobleman who sided with the peasants in the Peasants War in the early 16th century and led the ill-fated Black Company
of song and fable. See Friedrich Engels
, The Peasant War in Germany
, passim. Several generations of the family of Florian Geyer lived in the village of Giebelstadt, where the Geyer castle is located, but the family is thought to have died off and become extinct in the early 18th century. The heraldic coat of arms of the Geyer family in Giebelstadt was not a vulture or an eagle; instead, it originally was a horse, and later became a ram in the latter part of the 17th century. See N. Shmitt, A Short Giebelstadt History (2000)
, aka "Little Phil", who played for several major league teams between 1896 and 1904 and won the American Association
batting title in 1903.
jurisprudence
have involved litigants with the name "Geier". In one of these, Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. (98-1811) 529 U.S. 861 (2000), the United States Supreme Court held that the federal
legislation requiring passive restraints
in motor vehicles sold in the United States pre-empted state tort law. The plaintiff was a child named Alexis Geier who had been seriously injured in an accident while riding with her parents in a Honda passenger vehicle equipped with seat belt
s but not airbag
s. The Supreme Court held that Ms. Geier could not sue Honda
for failing to install airbags in a vehicle sold in 1987 because at that time, only seatbelts were required by federal law.
The other case, commonly known as the "Geier Case", involved an African American
teacher named Rita Sanders at what was then Tennessee State College, now the Tennessee State University
, who sued on behalf of herself and others in a class action
to compel the State of Tennessee
to end its de facto operation of a dual post-secondary education system for white and non-white students. This litigation was initiated by Ms. Sanders in 1968. Ms. Sanders later married and became known as Rita Sanders Geier. The case had a tortuous history as the United States Government and a number of other plaintiffs joined in support of her position, and involved at least a dozen reported appellate court decisions, including Geier v. Sundquist, 94 F.3d 644 (6th Cir. 1996); Geier v. Richardson, 871 F. 2d 1310 (6th Cir. 1989); Geier v. Alexander, 801 F.2d 799 (6th Cir. 1986); Geier v. Alexander, 593 F. Supp. 1263 (M.D. Tenn. 1984); Geier v. University of Tennessee, 597 F.2d 1056 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 886 (1979); Geier v. Blanton, 427 F. Supp. 644 (M.D. Tenn. 1977); Geier v. Dunn, 337 F. Supp. 573 (M.D. Tenn. 1972); and Sanders v. Ellington, 288 F. Supp. 937 (M.D. Tenn. 1968). The case was "resolved" 38 years later by a consent decree or settlement agreement in 2001, which imposed a 5-year period for implementation of various programmatic measures (colloquially known as Geier programs) to unwind 200 years of segregation and discrimination in the system of public higher education in Tennessee. The final confirmation of the Consent Decree was approved in September 2006. As stated in the Joint Statement in Support of the Consent Decree, "The Geier case stands first in terms of time and precedent in a line of cases devoted to the removal of a variety of vestiges of segregation from systems of public higher education."
Another well-known representative of the Geier name was the founder of the Cincinnati Milling Machine Company
(originally the Cincinnati Screw and Tap Company), Frederick V. Geier, whose company is still controlled by the Geier family (but now known as Cincinnati Milacron, Inc.). This branch of the Geier family has been prominent in Cincinnati civic and social affairs since the early 20th century, and has endowed the Geier Collections and Research Center of the Museum of Natural History and Science in Cincinnati. Frederick V. Geier was quoted in a Time Magazine article on rearmament in 1951.
in McLeod County
and with Boon Lake Township
and other parts of Renville County
is entirely descended from a single immigrant from Woldegk
, Germany
, by the name of Ferdinand Theodore Geier, a/k/a Ted Geier, who arrived in Minnesota in 1880 after spending 10 years as a wheelwright and truck farmer in Chicago, Illinois and nearby Cicero, Illinois. The other family, near Ortonville
in Big Stone County
is unrelated so far as is known. A small contingent of the Renville County Geiers settled for a brief time in Badger Township
in Polk County
before scattering to the winds in the latter part of the 20th Century. The current president of the Minnesota Medical Association
, G. Richard Geier, Jr., MD, of Rochester, Minnesota
, is a native of Evansville, Indiana
and not a member of either of these two Minnesota Geier families.
A number of academics, scholars, musicians and musical groups, businesses and professionals in the United States also bear the name "Geier".
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
word for a vulture. Geier is also a notable surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
and less frequently is seen as a place name.
Usages and Meanings of Geier
The disputed etymological origins of the wordWord
In language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...
Geier have confounded ornithological usage of the term in poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, biblical scholarship, and English-language dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
and encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
entries, while spawning several literary and philological misunderstandings and controversies. The surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
Geier also has different and somewhat inconsistent origins, traditions and meanings, and the heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
associated with the surname likewise is confused.
Ornithological Meanings of "Geier"
The modern German term Geier is generally recognized as referring to two distinct families of carrion-eating birdBird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
whose range includes the whole of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the western part of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Geier refers both to birds from the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Old World vulture
Old World vulture
Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, buzzards, kites, and hawks.Old World vultures are not closely related to the superficially similar New World vultures and condors, and do not share that group's good sense of smell. The similarities between the two...
(Aegypiinae) and the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
New World vulture
New World vulture
The New World Vulture or Condor family Cathartidae contains seven species in fivegenera, all but one of which are monotypic. It includes five vultures and two condors found in warm and temperate areas of the Americas....
(Cathartidae).
In English usage, the word Geier has been associated with both the Gyrfalcon
Gyrfalcon
The Gyrfalcon — Falco rusticolus — is the largest of the falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and the islands of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is mainly resident there also, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter.Individual vagrancy...
and the Lammergeier
Lammergeier
The Lammergeier, Lammergeyer, or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus , is the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian Vulture , its closest living relative...
although neither is synonymous with “Geier”. For example, "gyrfalcon" is thought to come from French gerfaucon, which is written in mediaeval Latin as gyrofalco, but the first part of the word also is said to come from Old High German gîr (now Geier), as in "vulture". The modifier, "Gyr", “Gier” or "Geier" preceding the word "falcon" is now thought to be a reference to the large size of the bird rather than to its genus or family, but it has not always been so regarded.
Earlier inaccurate and misleading conflations of these disparate terms resulted from reliance on imprecise Biblical translations and metaphorical impressions rather than on direct anatomical or behavioral observations of the bird species themselves. In the King James Version of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, in Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
xi, 13; Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy
The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
xiv, 17), the term "Gyrfalcon" referred to an unclean bird, most likely an Egyptian vulture
Egyptian Vulture
The Egyptian Vulture is a small Old World vulture, found widely distributed from southwestern Europe and northern Africa to southern Asia. It is the only living member of the genus Neophron. It has sometimes also been known as the White Scavenger Vulture or Pharaoh's Chicken...
, rather than to the modern Gyrfalcon
Gyrfalcon
The Gyrfalcon — Falco rusticolus — is the largest of the falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and the islands of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is mainly resident there also, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter.Individual vagrancy...
, and did not refer to a falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
or an eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
. These Biblical references to "Gyrfalcon" (or sometimes "Gierfalcon") probably were a misinterpretation of a Hebrew term more properly translated either as Egyptian vulture
Egyptian Vulture
The Egyptian Vulture is a small Old World vulture, found widely distributed from southwestern Europe and northern Africa to southern Asia. It is the only living member of the genus Neophron. It has sometimes also been known as the White Scavenger Vulture or Pharaoh's Chicken...
or Lammergeier
Lammergeier
The Lammergeier, Lammergeyer, or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus , is the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian Vulture , its closest living relative...
, the latter also known as the "lamb-vulture" or the "bone-breaker vulture", or historically as the "bone crusher" or Ossifrage).
This etymological confusion has produced taxonomic confusion, as well. Some authorities actually proclaimed uncertainty whether the Geier is a vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
or an eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
, and older dictionaries used the terms “Geier”, “Gyrfalcon” and “Lammergeier”, almost interchangeably, e.g. Webster's 1913 Dictionary.
Poets and others often assumed that the term Geier refers to a form of eagle or falcon, rather than a vulture, a matter that was commented upon in the article by Harriet C. Stanton, Poets and Birds: a Criticism, The Atlantic monthly. / Volume 52, Issue 311, September 1883.
Even some encyclopedia writers adopted the view that the Lammergeier
Lammergeier
The Lammergeier, Lammergeyer, or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus , is the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian Vulture , its closest living relative...
"is more closely allied with the eagles than with the vultures", as in the 11th Edition of Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
.
Taxonomic confusion may have resulted from the physical appearance of the Lammergeier
Lammergeier
The Lammergeier, Lammergeyer, or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus , is the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian Vulture , its closest living relative...
. Because the head of the Lammergeier
Lammergeier
The Lammergeier, Lammergeyer, or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus , is the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian Vulture , its closest living relative...
, unlike most other vultures, is feathered rather than naked, it bears a resemblance to the eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
or condor
Condor
Condor is the name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.They are:* The Andean Condor which inhabits the Andean mountains....
. “Gyrfalcon” is also sometimes rendered as "Geir eagle", although in modern usage a Gyrfalcon
Gyrfalcon
The Gyrfalcon — Falco rusticolus — is the largest of the falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and the islands of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is mainly resident there also, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter.Individual vagrancy...
is a member of the falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
family and is not an eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
. The Indian Vulture, another true vulture species recently recategorized as critically endangered, also was described as having a distinctly "eagle-like bearing" in contrast to most other vulture species.
The modern taxonomic distinction between the families of eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s or falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
s and the families of vultures should eliminate any uncertainty over the respective meanings of the term Geier. The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) and the Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus) are true carrion-eating vultures. The term "Geier" should not be applied to the modern Gyrfalcon
Gyrfalcon
The Gyrfalcon — Falco rusticolus — is the largest of the falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and the islands of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is mainly resident there also, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter.Individual vagrancy...
(Falco rusticolus); the Gyrfalcon is a distinct species of falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
(the largest of the falcon family), and is not a vulture.
"Geier" as a Surname
Geier is a common surnameSurname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and somewhat less common among German-American people. It is also found as a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
surname, and as Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n surname. The latter probably is associated with German emigration to Russia in the 17th and 18th centuries. The surname Geier is often considered to be interchangeable with Geyer
Geyer
Geyer is a town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 4000.- Geography :Geyer is situated northwest of Annaberg-Buchholz, and south of Chemnitz, in the valley of the Geyersbach creek...
, although some sources ascribe a different origin and meaning to the two surnames. German migrants to English speaking countries often Anglicise Geier as Geyer, though this change has become less common in recent years. Similarly, Geier has often been mistakenly changed to Geyer, and vice-versa in legal papers such as birth certificates and migration documents, especially in areas where the name is uncommon, or one version is vastly prevalent.
Many using the surname Geier share an oral history attributing its origins to a heroic band of peasant villagers who climbed high to an aerie and clubbed to death a gigantic raptor (a Geier) who had been stealing and eating human babies from their village. See German family name etymology
German family name etymology
German family names were introduced during the late Middle Ages in the German language area. Usually, such family names are derived from nicknames. In etymology, they are generally classified into four groups, based on the origin of a nickname: given names, job designations, bodily attributes, and...
As with the surname "Geier", the surname "Geyer" is primarily associated with the word "vulture". This is often used in a pejorative sense, however (as in "nickname for a greedy or rapacious person, from Middle High and Middle Low German gir(e) as in ‘large bird of prey’, ‘vulture’"). When affixed to a Jewish family, the surname "Geier" is thought by some to have a slightly different meaning. The Yiddish word Geyer means "peddler", and it is assumed that when last names became mandatory in Europe, the surname Geier was imposed upon Jewish peasants as a deprecatory label connoting a scheming merchant who takes advantage of the cupidity of others, i.e., a "vulture". The word "Geier" more recently has evolved as a "derogatory term for persons from the Middle East."
A significant number of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
people with the surname Geier are found in Washington D.C. and across the Southern States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an antecedents of which are unknown. As with the surnames of many African American families, it is likely that the names were adopted from a European American slaveowner by the name of "Geier", but none has been identified to date.
Coats of Arms
The etymological confusion associated with ornithological use of the term "Geier" also has affected family coats of arms and traditions concerning familyFamily
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
origin
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
s of those bearing the Geier surname. Some oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
s and family histories associate the Geier surname with the eagle (as in the "Eagle's Nest" coat of arms) and with a peasant legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
concerning a baby-stealing bird of prey
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
in a medieval Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
n or Saxon
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
. Others associate the surname with the carrion-eating, bone-crushing variety of vulture., In modern times, it is not unusual for the vulture in family coats of arms or logos
Logos
' is an important term in philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and religion. Originally a word meaning "a ground", "a plea", "an opinion", "an expectation", "word," "speech," "account," "reason," it became a technical term in philosophy, beginning with Heraclitus ' is an important term in...
to be rendered as a comical
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
of a slumping and sad-sack buzzard
Buzzard
A buzzard is one of several large birds, but there are a number of meanings as detailed below.-Old World:In the Old World Buzzard can mean:* One of several medium-sized, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings....
rather than a lammergeier
Lammergeier
The Lammergeier, Lammergeyer, or Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus , is the only member of the genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian Vulture , its closest living relative...
or gyrfalcon
Gyrfalcon
The Gyrfalcon — Falco rusticolus — is the largest of the falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and the islands of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is mainly resident there also, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter.Individual vagrancy...
with "the bearing of an eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
."
Literary History"
The ornithological and etymological confusions posed by the name or word "Geier" have led to some interesting and sometimes comical confusions in literary uses of the term, as well.Florian Geier
Florian Geyer
Florian Geyer , also known as "Florian Geier from Giebelstadt", was a Franconian nobleman, diplomat and knight...
, a Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
n nobleman who sided with the peasants in the Peasants War in the early 16th century and led the ill-fated Black Company
Black Company
The Black Company or the Black Troops was a unit of Franconian mercenaries during the Peasant's Revolt in the 1520s during the Protestant Reformation in Germany.The original German name of the Black Company was "Schwarzer Haufen"...
of song and fable. See Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
, The Peasant War in Germany
The Peasant War in Germany
The Peasant War in Germany by Friedrich Engels, 1850, is an account of 16th century uprisings.This book was written by Friedrich Engels in London, during the summer of 1850, following the revolutionary uprisings of 1848-1849. The book draws a parallel between the uprisings of 1848-1849 and the...
, passim. Several generations of the family of Florian Geyer lived in the village of Giebelstadt, where the Geyer castle is located, but the family is thought to have died off and become extinct in the early 18th century. The heraldic coat of arms of the Geyer family in Giebelstadt was not a vulture or an eagle; instead, it originally was a horse, and later became a ram in the latter part of the 17th century. See N. Shmitt, A Short Giebelstadt History (2000)
Baseball: Phil Geier
One professional baseball player bearing the Geier surname is recorded--Phil GeierPhil Geier
Philip Louis Geier was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He played during five seasons for five different teams in the major leagues between 1896 and 1904.-External links:...
, aka "Little Phil", who played for several major league teams between 1896 and 1904 and won the American Association
American Association (20th century)
The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
batting title in 1903.
Legal history
Two significant cases in United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
have involved litigants with the name "Geier". In one of these, Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. (98-1811) 529 U.S. 861 (2000), the United States Supreme Court held that the federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
legislation requiring passive restraints
Automobile safety
Automobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimize the occurrence and consequences of automobile accidents. Automobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimize the occurrence and consequences of...
in motor vehicles sold in the United States pre-empted state tort law. The plaintiff was a child named Alexis Geier who had been seriously injured in an accident while riding with her parents in a Honda passenger vehicle equipped with seat belt
Seat belt
A seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...
s but not airbag
Airbag
An Airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or a window...
s. The Supreme Court held that Ms. Geier could not sue Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
for failing to install airbags in a vehicle sold in 1987 because at that time, only seatbelts were required by federal law.
The other case, commonly known as the "Geier Case", involved an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
teacher named Rita Sanders at what was then Tennessee State College, now the Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University is a land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee.-History:...
, who sued on behalf of herself and others in a class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
to compel the State of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
to end its de facto operation of a dual post-secondary education system for white and non-white students. This litigation was initiated by Ms. Sanders in 1968. Ms. Sanders later married and became known as Rita Sanders Geier. The case had a tortuous history as the United States Government and a number of other plaintiffs joined in support of her position, and involved at least a dozen reported appellate court decisions, including Geier v. Sundquist, 94 F.3d 644 (6th Cir. 1996); Geier v. Richardson, 871 F. 2d 1310 (6th Cir. 1989); Geier v. Alexander, 801 F.2d 799 (6th Cir. 1986); Geier v. Alexander, 593 F. Supp. 1263 (M.D. Tenn. 1984); Geier v. University of Tennessee, 597 F.2d 1056 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 886 (1979); Geier v. Blanton, 427 F. Supp. 644 (M.D. Tenn. 1977); Geier v. Dunn, 337 F. Supp. 573 (M.D. Tenn. 1972); and Sanders v. Ellington, 288 F. Supp. 937 (M.D. Tenn. 1968). The case was "resolved" 38 years later by a consent decree or settlement agreement in 2001, which imposed a 5-year period for implementation of various programmatic measures (colloquially known as Geier programs) to unwind 200 years of segregation and discrimination in the system of public higher education in Tennessee. The final confirmation of the Consent Decree was approved in September 2006. As stated in the Joint Statement in Support of the Consent Decree, "The Geier case stands first in terms of time and precedent in a line of cases devoted to the removal of a variety of vestiges of segregation from systems of public higher education."
Prominent Authors with the Surname Geier
- Albert J. Geier, Exploring Basic Accounting.
- Alfred Geier, Plato's Erotic Thought: The Tree of the Unknown.
- Arnold Geier, Life insurance: how to get your money's worth.
- Arnold Geier (Preface by), T. G. Friedman (Illustrator), Abraham H. Foxman (Introduction by), Heroes of the Holocaust.
- Bonnie Geier, But I Never Said I'd Be a Farmer!: I Said, "You Could Be a Farmer, But I Never Said I'd Be a Farmer!"
- Catherine Geier, Carol Brown, Cafe Flora Cookbook.
- Cathy Geier, Watercolor Landscape Quilts: Quick No-Fuss Fold & Sew Technique
- Clarence R. Geier, The Kimberlin Site : The Ecology of a Late Woodland Population
- Clarence R. Geier (Editor), Stephen R. Potter (Editor), Jim Lehrer (Foreword by), Archaeological, Perspectives on the American Civil War.
- Clarence R. Geier (Editor), Susan E. Winter (Editor), Look to the Earth: Historical Archaeology and the American Civil War.
- David Geier, John Bothwell, Score! Power Up Your Game, Business and Life by Harnessing the Power of Emotional Intelligence.
- Florian Geier, Jens Timmer, Christian Fleck, Reconstructing Gene-Regulatory Networks from Time Series, Knock-Out Data, and Prior Knowledge.
- Frederic M Geier, Individual Differences in Emotionality,: Hypothesis Formation, Vicarious Trial and Error, and Visual Discrimination Learning in Rats.
- Gabriele Geier, Food Security Policy in Africa Between Disaster Relief and Structural Adjustment: Reflections on the Conception and Effectiveness of Policies the case of Tanzania.
- Hans T. Geier, Economic aspects of federal livestock grazing policy: A regional economic analysis for the Okanogan-Ferry area in Washington.
- Hans T. Geier, Community and economic profile for the villages of Grayling, Anvik, Shageluk, and Holy Cross.
- Hans T. Geier, Feasibility study of irrigation in Alaska.
- James T. Geier, Eric Geier, Geeks on Call.
- James T. Geier, Eric Geier, Wireless Networking: 5-Minute Fixes.
- Jim Geier, Wireless Networks First-Step.
- J. E. Geier, Water-jet-assisted drag bit cutting in medium-strength rock (SuDoc I 28.27:9164)
- Joel Geier, Vietnam: The Soldier's Revolt, International Socialist Review Issue 9, August-September 2000
- John G. Geier, Dorothy E. Downey, Energetics of Personality: Defining a Self.
- Karl E. Geier, Agricultural Districts and Zoning: A State-Local Approach to a National Problem, 8 Ecology L.Q. 655 (1980)
- Manfred Geier, Das Sprachspiel der Philosophen : von Parmenides bis Wittgenstein.
- Manfred Geier, Kants Welt.
- Marguerita Geier, San Buenaventura: Serra's Last Mission.
- Martin Geier, Music in the Service of the Church: The Funeral Sermon for Heinrich Schutz (1585–1672).
- Mary Alice Geier, Cancer, What's It Doing in My Life?: A Personal Journal of the First Two Years of Chemotherapy in the Career of a Cancer Patient.
- Max G. Geier, Forest science research and scientific communities in Alaska : a history of the origins and evolution of USDA Forest Service Research in Juneau, Fairbanks, and Anchorage, (Pacific Northwest Research Station).
- Max G. Geier, Necessary Work: Discovering Old Forests, New Outlooks, and Community on the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, 1948-2000.
- Ted Geier, Make Your Events Special: How to Produce Successful Special Events for Nonprofit Organization.
Prominent American Persons Named "Geier"
Well known representatives of the Geier surname include the Geier Glove Company and the Geier Sausage Company, neither of which have any necessary connection with each other or any other American bearer of the Geier surname.Another well-known representative of the Geier name was the founder of the Cincinnati Milling Machine Company
Cincinnati Milling Machine Company
The Cincinnati Milling Machine Company is the name of a machine tool building company which was incorporated in 1889. The company was formed for the purpose of building and promoting an innovative new concept for a machine tool. The principals in forming the company were Frederick V. Geiger and...
(originally the Cincinnati Screw and Tap Company), Frederick V. Geier, whose company is still controlled by the Geier family (but now known as Cincinnati Milacron, Inc.). This branch of the Geier family has been prominent in Cincinnati civic and social affairs since the early 20th century, and has endowed the Geier Collections and Research Center of the Museum of Natural History and Science in Cincinnati. Frederick V. Geier was quoted in a Time Magazine article on rearmament in 1951.
Geiers in Minnesota
Two extended families with the surname Geier are found in Southern and Central Minnesota. The family associated with Lynn TownshipLynn Township, Minnesota
Lynn Township is a township in McLeod County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 604 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 33.1 square miles , of which, 31.8 square miles of it is land and 1.4 square...
in McLeod County
McLeod County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,898 people, 13,449 households, and 9,427 families residing in the county. The population density was 71 people per square mile . There were 14,087 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...
and with Boon Lake Township
Boon Lake Township, Minnesota
Boon Lake Township is a township in Renville County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 400 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000,...
and other parts of Renville County
Renville County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,154 people, 6,779 households, and 4,623 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile . There were 7,413 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
is entirely descended from a single immigrant from Woldegk
Woldegk
Woldegk is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated 24 km southeast of Neubrandenburg...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, by the name of Ferdinand Theodore Geier, a/k/a Ted Geier, who arrived in Minnesota in 1880 after spending 10 years as a wheelwright and truck farmer in Chicago, Illinois and nearby Cicero, Illinois. The other family, near Ortonville
Ortonville, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,158 people, 923 households, and 594 families residing in the city. The population density was 635.8 people per square mile . There were 1,125 housing units at an average density of 331.4 per square mile...
in Big Stone County
Big Stone County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,820 people, 2,377 households, and 1,611 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile . There were 3,171 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile...
is unrelated so far as is known. A small contingent of the Renville County Geiers settled for a brief time in Badger Township
Badger Township, Minnesota
Badger Township is a township in Polk County, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the 'Grand Forks-ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area'. Under the United States Public Land Survey System it is a survey township identified as Township 149 North, Range 42 West, Fifth Principal Meridian...
in Polk County
Polk County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,369 people, 12,070 households, and 8,050 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile . There were 14,008 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
before scattering to the winds in the latter part of the 20th Century. The current president of the Minnesota Medical Association
Minnesota Medical Association
Minnesota Medical Association is a professional association representing physicians, residents, and medical students, working together for a healthy Minnesota. With more than 11,000 members, the MMA is a powerful advocate on health care issues at the State Capitol and in Washington D.C...
, G. Richard Geier, Jr., MD, of Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
, is a native of Evansville, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
and not a member of either of these two Minnesota Geier families.
Other Persons Named "Geier"
- John GeierJohn GeierJohn G. Geier is an American psychologist and inventor of the DISC assessmentHis academic career includes the following positions:* Director of Behaviour Sciences at the University of Minnesota* Visiting Professor University of Wisconsin–Madison...
, American psychologist - Mark GeierMark GeierMark R. Geier is a self-employed American physician and controversial professional witness who has testified in more than 90 cases regarding allegations of injury or illness caused by vaccines....
(born 1948), American physician - Oscar GeierOscar GeierOscar Arnold Geier was a Swiss bobsledder who competed in the 1930s. He won the silver medal in the two-man event at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid....
(1882-1942), Swiss bobsledder - Philip GeierPhilip GeierPhilip H. Geier, Jr. was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Interpublic Group of Companies in from 1980 to 2000.-Career:Geier joined McCann-Erickson in 1958. During his career, he served as regional director of McCann-Europe and then Vice Chairman of the parent company, Interpublic...
, American businessman - Sofia Landon GeierSofia Landon GeierSofia Landon Geier is a television soap opera writer and actress. She is also credited as Sofia Landon or Sophia Landon...
(born 1949), Canadian soap opera writer and actor - Helmut Josef Geier, known as DJ HellDJ HellThis article is about Helmut Josef Geier. You may also be looking for Darryl Hell.Helmut Josef Geier, professionally known as DJ Hell is a German house-techno DJ...
(born 1962), German DJ
A number of academics, scholars, musicians and musical groups, businesses and professionals in the United States also bear the name "Geier".
See also
- German family name etymologyGerman family name etymologyGerman family names were introduced during the late Middle Ages in the German language area. Usually, such family names are derived from nicknames. In etymology, they are generally classified into four groups, based on the origin of a nickname: given names, job designations, bodily attributes, and...
- Geier (disambiguation)
- Category:German-language surnames